Danzo's Tea

After leaving the alley.

The group didn't head to the Root Base. Instead, they arrived at a teahouse beneath the willows on the Konoha Riverbank.

"Lord Danzo has been waiting for you. Please come in."

Aburame Ryoma stepped aside and gestured for them to enter.

The teahouse had a wooden tile roof and covered less than ten square meters. Its entrance, in particular, was extremely low.

It was a square, only sixty centimeters across.

"Is this a doggy door? The entrance is so small. How am I supposed to get in?" Dan frowned. After all, he was enormous.

Seeing this, Itachi worried Dan might misunderstand, so he took the initiative to explain:

"Uncle, guests have to bend down and kneel to enter the teahouse. It isn't meant to make things difficult. It's to embody the spirit of equality and humility in the tea ceremony.

"Entering this way means leaving one's status and rank outside and stepping into a world beyond the mundane.

"I think Lord Danzo invited us to meet in a teahouse to show that he considers us equals and wishes to be on friendly terms."

His missing teeth made him lisp a little, but Itachi still did his best to explain the etiquette of the tea ceremony clearly.

Born into a prestigious family, he had been immersed in this knowledge from a young age, learning at his Clan Head father's side.

"Itachi is right."

Aburame Ryoma approved of Itachi's explanation, then gave Dan a mild warning. "Mr. Dan, Lord Danzo has graciously lowered himself to meet with you. If you're still going to act arrogantly, then don't come in."

"Uncle, let's go in."

Itachi didn't want Dan to feel any more awkward. After speaking, he walked to the entrance, took off his shoes, and crawled inside.

However.

Dan still did as he pleased.

He walked over to the entrance, grabbed the lattice window above it, and yanked.

With a ripping sound.

To Aburame Ryoma's astonishment, Dan pulled the entire window off and tossed it aside.

"That makes the hole bigger."

Dan muttered to himself, then headed for the entrance and forced his burly frame into the teahouse.

Aburame Ryoma furrowed his brow and followed him inside. The two Root Ninja stayed outside to keep watch.

The teahouse was furnished simply.

Though small, it had all the essentials: tatami mats, a tea table, a brazier, and tea utensils. An arrangement of flowers sat in one corner, and a scroll hung in the alcove, bearing four Chinese characters: "Harmony, Respect, Purity, Tranquility."

The teahouse's owner, Danzo, wore a kimono. He sat kneeling at one end of the tea table, eyes closed, back straight, hands resting on his thighs.

He looked very formal.

Itachi quietly came to sit across from Danzo, kneeling in the proper position. His expression was solemn, and he was perfectly courteous.

Dan didn't like kneeling.

So he plopped down beside his nephew. His massive three-hundred-jin body made the entire teahouse shake.

It also made Danzo open his eyes.

Ever since entering, Dan had done whatever he pleased, paying no heed to the rules. He'd committed every breach of etiquette imaginable.

Danzo, however, didn't seem to mind. He merely spoke to Dan in an unhurried voice:

"Uchiha Dan, I've finally met you. As the rumors say, you're a man who doesn't stand on ceremony."

"You're too kind, Lord Danzo."

Dan casually crossed his legs and got straight to the point. "You called us here in the middle of the night. It can't be just for tea, can it?"

"Don't be in such a hurry, young man."

As he spoke, Danzo expertly prepared the tea with his left arm, the only one he could move. It was clear he knew the tea ceremony well.

Before long.

Danzo pushed a steaming bowl of bright green matcha in front of Dan with one hand.

"Please."

"I don't like tea," Dan said.

"How would you know you don't like it if you don't try it?" Danzo replied mildly, his words carrying a deeper meaning.

Dan frowned, but still picked up the bowl and downed the tea in one go.

"Pfft!"

The moment the tea entered his mouth, Dan found it unbearably bitter. He couldn't hold back and spat it out, spraying Danzo's face.

In the next instant.

"How dare you!"

Several voices shouted at once. Several Root Ninja sprang out of nowhere, pressing Ninja Swords, Kunai, and other weapons against Dan's neck.

How could such a small teahouse conceal so many people?

"Stand down."

Danzo didn't get angry. He gave his subordinates a stern order, then took a handkerchief from inside his clothes and leisurely wiped the bitter tea from his face.

He had asked Dan to drink tea as a test.

Danzo thought Dan had deliberately spat in his face as a childish provocation. Only a child would do such a thing.

This young man in front of him had brawn but no brains, and a very immature personality.

People like that were the easiest to control.

"Sorry about that," Dan said. He meant it; he really hadn't been able to hold it in.

"Never mind."

Danzo forgave Dan's offense without anger, displaying both unfathomable composure and the bearing befitting a Hokage Assistant.

He left Dan aside for the moment.

He prepared another bowl of bitter tea and pushed it toward Itachi, saying:

"Itachi, I told you that your life would be full of chaos. Drink this calming tea. It will ease the anxiety and pain in your heart."

"Thank you, Lord Danzo."

Itachi was shaken. He bowed to Danzo from where he sat, then lifted the bowl in both hands and drank it in one go.

Danzo had done him a kindness. Without his recommendation, Itachi could never have joined the Anbu.

He had also promised Danzo that he would act as his eyes and ears, keeping watch over the Uchiha Clan.

"Ugh..."

After finishing the bowl of matcha, Itachi's eyes suddenly widened. He puffed out his cheeks, struck by a powerful wave of nausea.

If it had only been bitter tea, he could have endured it.

But the problem was, Itachi had just drunk a full liter of chicken breast juice, and his stomach was already upset. Now, the bowl of bitter tea had made things "twice as bad."

His stomach churned, and his face quickly grew paler.

A few seconds later.

"Urgh~"

Itachi finally couldn't hold it in and vomited a large puddle of something indescribable.

Yellow and green, it smelled of chicken droppings, bitterness, and the sour stench of digestive juices... The odors all blended together, filling the tiny teahouse.

"Why'd you throw up after all?" Dan said. Frowning, he patted Itachi's back and sternly instructed his nephew, "That means you've lost all the protein you took in today. You'll have to eat ten boiled egg whites when we get home tonight."

Seeing this, Danzo's expression finally darkened.

Was the tea he'd prepared really that bad?

No. Clearly, the uncle and nephew had planned this together. Neither of them had shown him any respect.

Uchiha Dan was one thing, but what surprised Danzo was Itachi. He should have treated him with the utmost respect, yet now he was humiliating him to his face.

Had Dan influenced him?

Taking a deep breath.

Danzo tried to calm himself, looked Dan straight in the eye, and suddenly said:

"Dan, you know that I was the one who recommended Itachi for the Anbu, don't you?"

Dan nodded. "I just found out."

Danzo: "..."

Suppressing his anger, he spoke again in a solemn voice:

"To be honest, when the Second Hokage established the Police Force, it was actually to push the Uchiha Clan out of Konoha's power center.

"That's why Hiruzen, Koharu, and Homura all strongly opposed Uchiha joining the Anbu. But I still vouched for Itachi's reputation and recommended him.

"Do you know why?"

"Why?" Dan pretended not to know and asked earnestly.